Municipalities for Green Mobility

A joint project of the Ecology Action Centre (EAC) and the Cities and Environment Unit (CEU), Municipalities for Green Mobility: A guide to action on sustainable transportation in Nova Scotia [pdf, 5 MB], is a resource designed to help municipalities integrate sustainable transportation into their planning processes. For each of five key components - land use, active transportation, public transit, vehicle efficiency and movement of goods – we make recommendations related to planning and policy, infrastructure, and education. Whenever possible, we provide a location-specific example for each recommendation.

The toolkit builds on and shares the knowledge gained from the Municipalities for Green Mobility Project, led by the EAC and the CEU in 2009. Our organizations partnered with Windsor, Annapolis Royal and the District of Lunenburg to help these municipalities incorporate sustainable transportation into their Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSPs). The following recommendations were presented to each council.

Annapolis Royal

Windsor

District of Lunenburg

All municipalities in Canada had to complete an ICSP by 2010 to be eligible for federal gas tax funds. The ICSP process required municipalities to create a 30-year community vision that addresses environmental, social, cultural and economic sustainability and to identify specific actions that achieve this vision. Therefore, ICSPs provide municipalities with an opportunity to advance sustainable transportation within a long-term planning framework. The gas tax funds can be used for infrastructure projects, such as public transit, walking trails and drinking water treatment, that meet the federal government criteria of clean air, clean water and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.   

The project was funded by Transport Canada, Conserve Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection, and the Cities and Environment Unit.